Lota (vessel)

A Lota (Urdu: لوٹا‎), (Hindi: लोटा) is a small, usually spherical water vessel of brass, copper or plastic used in parts of South Asia. A similar vessel to the lota is the Buta, used in Muslim parts of Africa for personal hygiene and for the Wudu. [1]

A Lota is commonly used to store or transfer small amounts of liquids like water, particularly for cleaning and ritual purification.

In some parts of Pakistan and India, the use of the phrase "bependi ka lota" (a "lota without a base") is colloquially used to refer to a person who may switch their loyalties. This comes from the observation that a spherical lota without a base tends to roll over in unpredictable directions when kept on uneven ground. The neologism "lotacracy" was coined in Pakistan to describe politicians who would switch parties.[5]